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Monday, November 17, 2008

Pumpkin Sage Dinner Rolls

I have a lot of roasted pumpkin puree. Just stands to reason that I am going to be making a lot of pumpkin recipes. Somehow T. missed that memo...

I decided the other day to test some pumpkin rolls that I had seen in this months Family Fun magazine. They turned out incredibly well and would have even been better had I followed ALL of the directions. I usually have so many things that I am working on at one time that I mess up. I am going to make these for Thanksgiving as even with the mess up they were that good.

Be sure to follow ALL of the direction and make that last split in the dough. Mine only made it halfway through the division. I realized after about the third muffin cup that I had messed up but I couldn't fix it all. I ended up with 8 HUGE rolls when I should have had 12!!! Oh well. At least it's been tested...

1. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, yeast, and salt, and set it aside.

2. Pour the milk into a microwave-safe bowl or 4-cup glass measuring cup and microwave on high for 30 seconds. Whisk in the honey, squash, egg, and water. (The liquid mixture should be less than 110°; anything hotter might kill the yeast.)

3. With a fork, blend the squash mixture into the flour mixture until you have a soft dough. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

4. Two hours before baking, turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead 6 sage leaves into the dough. Melt the butter and set it aside in a small bowl. Divide the dough in half, then divide each half into 6 portions. Divide each portion into 3 pieces. With floured hands, roll each piece into a ball and dip it into the melted butter. Place 3 balls in a muffin cup. Continue until 12 muffin cups are filled. (very important step unless you want really HUGE rolls!)

5. Drizzle or brush each roll with 1/2 teaspoon of the leftover melted butter and then sprinkle them with the rest of the sage. Let the rolls rise in a warm spot (at least 70°) until they're double in size, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. The 3 balls of dough will rise together to form a cloverleaf shape.

6. Heat the oven to 350°. Bake the rolls until golden, about 15 to 17 minutes. Makes 1 dozen.

These were really a delicious change from just the regular yeasty rolls that are normally on my table! I can't wait to serve these!

Terrific recipe. I made something kind of similar last Thanksgiving. I wanted to bring rolls this year but I was told that my BIL wanted to use his bread machine. It's not bound to be as good as these!!!